undyingcourt | Test Drive Meme

Entry tags:

Test Drive Meme - New Blood

DEC TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to the Undying Court Test Drive Meme! This post will allow players to test drive their AU characters in the setting, as well as meet fresh faces or even connect with those they have preexisting CR with. As with anything involved in the setting, this post will likely contain: violence, enthrallment, torture, and sexual content.

Regarding continuity, all TDM threads can be taken as in-game canon if desired. Please keep in mind that the game proper will begin in mid December, in the Winter Season, so Students/Novices should create their prompts under the assumption that the TDM takes place during the season prior to the one they will be apping as. This means that students planning to app as first season novices will be visiting Castle Courtsheart prior to their Beginning. In other words, if you plan to app a student as a second season, the TDM will take place during their first, and so on.

Feel free to brush up on the Premise, Vampire Powers, and head over to the FAQ/Game Info page if you have any questions!

Make sure you are aware of the Rules when posting your top-level. (Content warnings are always welcome!)
Please format your Top-level in this format: Character Name (AU Name if different) | Canon | Teacher/Student | Court
As a reminder, a Test Drive sample is required in order to app.
If you have any questions specific to the TDM, ask them in the Questions thread below!

Top-Level Directory:

Chat with NPC: Revar
Ace Attorney - Apollo Justice (Student)
Alice in the Country of Hearts - Alice Liddell (Student)
Attack On Titan - Erwin Smith (Teacher)
Baldur's Gate 3 - Astarion (Teacher)
Baldur's Gate 3 - Halsin (Teacher)
Baldur's Gate 3 - Raphael (Teacher)
Batman - Bruce Wayne (Teacher)
Bridgerton (Netflix) - Anthony Bridgerton (Student)
Castlevania - Soma Cruz (Student)
Castlevania: Nocturne - Maria Renard (Student)
Cosmo Warrior Zero - Harlock (Student)
Critical Role - Percy DeRolo (Teacher)
Daria - Daria Morgendorffer (Teacher)
Devil Summoner - Raidou Kuzunoha XIV (Student)
Dragon Age - Fenris (Teacher)
D&D: Honor Amongst Thieves - Edgin Darvis (Teacher)
D&D: Honor Amongst Thieves - Xenk Yendar (Teacher)
Ensemble STars!! - Mayoi Ayase (Student)
Fate/Zero - Kariya Matou (Kariya Makiri) (Student)
FE: Three Houses - Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd (Student)
FE: Three Houses - Hilda Goneril (Student)
FE: Three Houses - Lorenz Hellman Gloucester (Student)
FE: Three Houses - Marianne von Edmund (Student)
FE: Three Houses - Sylvain Gautier (Student)
Final Fantasy XIV - Estinien Varlineau (Teacher)
Frozen - Prince Hans (Student)
Genshin Impact - Diluc Ragnvindr (Teacher)
Genshin Impact - Tighnari (Teacher)
Hanna Is Not A Boy's Name - Conrad Achenleck (Teacher)
Hannibal (NBC) - Will Graham (Teacher)
Jujutsu Kaisen - Gojo Satoru (Teacher)
Jujutsu Kaisen - Toji Zen'in (Teacher)
Lucifer (Netflix) - Lucifer Morningstar (Teacher)
MCU - Loki Laufeyson (Teacher)
Original - Aurinn Laurentius (Student)
Original - Bellatrix Bakhar (Student)
Original - Christine Delacroix (Teacher)
Original - Hanako 'Rosalina' Nurumi (Teacher)
Original - Jisu (Eden Woods) (Student)
Original - Karma D'Auvergn (Teacher)
Our Flag Means Death - Edward Teach (Teacher)
Our Flag Means Death - Izzy Hands (Student)
Persona 3 Portable - Kotone Shiomi (Student)
Persona 5 R - Goro Akechi (Student)
Persona 5 - Haru Okumura (Student)
Persona 5 - Ren Amamiya (Student)
Pride and Prejudice - Elizabeth Bennet (Student)
Return to Labrynth - Sarah Williams (Teacher)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - Snow White (Student)
Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard (Teacher)
Star Trek: AOS - James T. Kirk (Student)
Star Wars - Darth Vader (Teacher)
Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order - Trilla Suduri (Student)
The Adventure Zone: Balance - Kravitz (Teacher)
The Adventure Zone: Balance - Lydia (Teacher)
The Adventure Zone: Graduation - Fitzroy Maplecourt (Student)

NEW ARRIVALS

New arrivals will be starting their first season in the winter, but they're welcomed to the castle early, under the watchful eyes of the Silver Court. Upon arrival, they will be shown to a room by a human whose eyes glow softly from within, with vacant smiles. Thralls. There, the human thralls will draw them a bath and bring them new clothes to wear to their first meeting. These are rich, expensive things made of high quality fabric. Whether it's a silk dress and a heavy velvet cowl, or a fine pants and a vest made from a brocade, the servants will provide. The new initiate's old clothes will be burned after, in a symbol of the life they are leaving behind. If they are hungry, they will be provided food. If they need anything at all, they need only ask their new servants.

Later that night they are taken to a grand hall, with high arched ceilings and candles burning in chandeliers. There are figures painted overhead, beautiful and entwined. Some have their eyes are colored to match the courts, others are gracefully placed in their death, with blood dripping from necks and wrists.

Balconies line the hall behind a forest of pillars, and vampires all watch as the group walk through (some more hungrily than others).

"Welcome to your first undying season, initiates," a pale, silver-haired vampire calls. They have silver eyes are clad in silver robes, but command the attention of everyone in attendance. They have a beauty that seems neither male nor female. They are standing at the center of a wide semi-circle of other vampires, "As the Silver Court's acting voice at this end of the Autumn season, allow me to introduce you to the Houses that will be your new homes."

The vampire, Revar, gives the newcomers an overview of all of the courts—Blue, Red, Gold, Silver, and Black—and then invites those already claimed by their Courts to join the vampires who will be their Makers.

Revar offers the Foundlings who are left a gentle, knowing smile, and then allows them to be chosen. They are like the last sheep left at the auction, and the vampires who take them may not be the enthused about it. Nevertheless, Revar waits patiently until all have found a maker.

Now that they are paired up it is expected—indeed, required—that the initiate drink from their maker. That is their Beginning. Only once they have truly begun can they can be considered novices.

AUTUMN NOX

Silver Court is in season and for the Autumn Nox it holds a large symposium, inviting all the best vampire minds from around lands nearby and far. The whole castle is abuzz with new activity. The stables are packed full of horses, carriages litter the grounds, but somehow the castle has enough rooms to house all the new arrivals.

Novices will find that some of these vampires have not seen a human-novice in a very, very long time. These vampires might see the human-novices more like specimens, curious about their every move. They won't bite, but novices may find themselves observed as they wander the castle and its grounds.

The symposium itself is open to anyone at the castle. Scholars can present on any topic at all. Novices will find that these range from the incredibly mundane (you've always wanted to attend a history of bottom-feeding river fish, haven't you?) to the truly fascinating (new insights into how vampire hearts work) to the downright strange (the symposium has a range of lectures very close to dawn about the sharing of vampire...fluids). Seasoned novices with their own Autumn classes to attend are expected to keep up with their studies, but some teachers may let them out of a session to attend the lectures and workshops of the symposium.

The Silver Court vampires are incredibly busy between running the symposium and trying to help the new novices get settled in. They may need some volunteers to lend a hand with setting up rooms or helping scholars find their way around. In fact, volunteers might find themselves leading scholars down to the second kitchen for a bite to eat, a strong reminder that even these demure learners are still monsters who must drink blood.

PUMPKINS-GONE-WILD

The symposium isn't all that the autumn season brings. The Silver Court’s talents are on display in other ways—sometimes not in ways another had particularly hoped. An overly zealous youngblood in the Silver Court tried to grow a few extra pumpkins for the occasion and ended up with a few too many! The pumpkin vines break out of the green house and start sprouting pumpkins everywhere. These are no ordinary pumpkins, they will sprout and grow and become fully formed in the course of a night. Better keep an eye out for those vines or else your room might become full of pumpkins! Luckily, the pumpkins aren’t rotting any time soon (they’ll last until winter, or so the Silver Court vampires are saying), but it can be pretty inconvenient for them to grow everywhere. Start cutting those vines to pieces, and hope they don’t try to entangle you in the process.

LIBRARY CLEAN-UP

Meanwhile, with all the scholars in town are making a mess of the library, much to the Silver Court vampire’s dismay. Books are being checked out and not checked back in, passed around from scholar to scholar. You might find those lost books just about anywhere. Who was reading in a tree? Anyone who collects the books and returns them to the library is sure to get a little bit of favor with the librarians, and it’s never a bad thing to have a bit of an in with a Court. If you’re worried about failing Silver Court, it’s time to get searching! Although how you’re going to convince a 300 year old vampire that time is not fake and that deadlines are real (and in fact were two days ago) is anyone’s guess.

UNETHICAL EXPRIMENTS

[CW: Torture, experiments]

Those who venture towards the basement might hear something a little different than normal. The thralls who spend their time down there are normally quiet, commanded to keep silent and pleasant for the vampires they serve. But with the arrival of the new scholars comes disquieting, inhuman screams from the darker reaches of the basement. Novices trying to catch a glimpse will be chased away, but teachers might be invited to watch as these vampires experiment on one another, all in the name of science. What’s a little torture, when you’re undying?

Thanks for joining us for our first TDM! For any questions regarding the TDM prompts, please comment in the thread below. For general game questions, please check the FAQ/Game Info. Remember that the game proper will begin mid December, in the Winter Season, so Students/Novices should create their prompts under the assumption that the TDM takes place during the season prior to the one they will be apping as.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[and he is, not all at once but it creeps in his bones, fills his veins with ice. He shivers at the hand on the back of his neck and unconsciously a little closer to Ed's side. It's where he should be, he tells himself, to defend Ed if he needs it. Not because he's...so that if he can, if needed, step in front of him]

Well-- I have-- a healthy respect for them. But you're better than they are. You'll show them.

It's only a 'snooze-fest' if you don't have to worry about coming across such things.

[ While Revar had instilled the tiniest of such worries in Eden, she already knew most of what would come up in such a lecture. So there was no actual interest there. Really, there were a few ideas, but they were talking about lectures, so that's what the tall and handsome peer would get. ]

If the options were only lectures that were starting next, I'd say you'll want Miss Rosie's lecture. If you're lucky, you can be a part of the demonstrations. If luckier, you get to watch them instead, and get out without needing help. Though I suppose it would depend on if you had that help...

[ To Eden's credit, she can bring all of this without going even a little bit pink in the face. She certainly knows what she's implying. If there wasn't a degree or two of separation between her and the implications, she'd be as red as some parts of the clothes she wore. ]

It was juuust obvious enough for even me to pick up on it.

[ Which you had to be, for someone like her to pick up on that kind of thing. She was so separated from how involved the vampire courts were with the rest of society, and it might've stayed that way if she wasn't caught in the Finding. ]

From what I can tell? Until we all have a maker, it'll continue. Which, with how many of us there are, could be a little while.

"Are you trying to tell me how to work around the system? I think I have that one covered, thanks," she said flatly. Why was she even helping him? He was only annoying some part of her? But she still stayed and followed his lead on how to work around this, to get more of the books that they needed.

"And what are your goals? To fall in line with what they want?" She rolled her eyes at that. It seemed too much by the book for her-- literally. Another snag and she had three books piled up, pressing them into his chest with a raise of her brows.

"Should I take that as a hint for my own future classes?"

The one who's sat down next to Loki is a familiar face, and Aurinn unknowingly shifts to put one leg across the other. It's said in a jesting tone, amusement clear even as he doesn't seem to look at Loki at all. He'd pester his maker more, but some of the lesson is actually catching his interest, if only because it's a Gold Court class and those are ones he's really taken to. Aurinn exhales, brow raising as some of the compulsion steps are being described with intricate detail. Some of this he's never even thought about trying or working towards, and others it's the whole matter of the mental sophistication in compulsion itself.

Soon enough his eyes fall back on Loki's writing and he blinks, both a bit surprised and also trying not to let out a quiet laugh. Somehow, this seems very much like something Loki would do. "You're actually taking notes?"

Well, not every lecture is for everyone, [Elias points out; he's so caught up in scholarly enjoyment that for a moment, he forgets entirely about the past-6am lectures.

But after a moment, he remembers those again. The smile drops from his face.]

-Oh, do you mean the daytime presentations?

…yeah, those are very out there.

I would think it a distraction from all the ruling.

[ That's why the Red Court members often quip that it's he who sits upon he who sits upon the throne who really has the power. ]

[ it's a bit of a relief that the thrall isn't actually being punished. people drop shit all the time, after all; these things happen. he's also not terribly thrilled with the notion of thralls in the first place, and not just because that could be him if he doesn't do well here. it's just kind of fucked up. vampires are fucked up.

and yet here he is, carefully sweeping the shards of a vase into a dust pan at vampire school before he's even started classes. why is he like this? ]

It's fine, I got it. Not that I don't trust them, but you gotta be extra careful with shit like this.

[ lest someone accidentally cut themselves and start bleeding in a castle full of vampires. sounds like a bad time. ]

.. heh. Indeed.

[ her unlife, it is. tighnari smiles, and stands again, brushing soil and grass from the knees of his trousers. ]

I'm going to see to the others, if you have need of me, don't hesitate.

[ he is, after all, always happy to nurture fresh young minds that are eager to learn, but for now there are other students who need his input as well. ]

[ it is, in fact, only the beginning.

thankfully, for mayoi, he will find that tighnari is a firm teacher, but not an unkind one. he has a good eye for seeing what each of his students needs, and with this young man as his chosen novice, well - suffice it to say, tighnari will be very invested in his well-being, and his progress as a student throughout the year. ]

I'm glad to hear that, Mayoi. I expect you'll do well.

[ he won't apply pressure, at least not yet, but soon enough he hopes to see this nervous bud blossom into something more. for now, tighnari straightens up and gestures down the corridor. ]

Now.. I imagine you know what comes next?

"No, I suppose not." He can at least acknowledge that, sometimes. "Overenthusiasm can have unintended consequences sometimes."

Does he have personal experience with that? Probably.

"It's more like romance is meant to be this beautiful thing, but more often it turns horrific for all involved." At least it did for his parents. He himself avoids it like the plague. It's more trouble than it's worth.

[ Xenk quirks an eyebrow, clearly surprised to hear this. I mean, sure, people say that about Gold Court, but the reality is that they have thralls for all the boring stuff. Usually. ]

A proper ruler need not rule at all times. There is room for leisure, if one makes time for it. Finding proper balance is a key lesson.

[ Xenk likes the boring stuff too, but he's still a vampire. ]

So this wasn't purely academic after all.

[ He says it like he's caught Xenk in a lie. He's proud of himself. ]

[In turn, Tighnari will find Mayoi a diligent hard worker who does not cut corners. A meticulous perfectionist who often pushes himself past his physical means. Despite his seeming total lack of self-worth, does not give up easy.]

I…

[Ah, right. The actual ritual that this is all supposed to amount to. For all his fear earlier, this does not feel like the scariest thing. It is not the first time a vampire has taken his blood, or course. He worries about making a mistake, but he seems calmer when faced with the next step. He nods.]

Y-yes. Yes, I do. Ah, please allow me to follow your lead. I will follow you even into the darkest depths of hell, should that be where we must go.

Indeed we do.

[Honestly, Autumn to winter was rather exhausting, spring and summer seemed almost like a break in comparison, though he's sure there are others who feel differently. One more season to survive through, slowly but surely.]

As do I, though the scholars are likely to leave a mess to be cleaned up in their wake.

[That's why they had thralls, but still, it was a hassle.]

"He won't die," Dottore says, with utmost confidence. "Either they will do a good job, or I will bring him back. I have high standards for my students."

The scholar's screaming has gone down some, but he's still clearly aware. The students have learned to back off every now and then to prevent him from going into shock. Doesn't make it easier on the subject, though.

[Fenris tries to not hang on to his past, to the ways he remembers being a thrall, the way he smiled through blades sinking into his flesh, screaming in his head but his lips wouldn't move, the way his wounds were pried open and slathered with.. with what he cannot say, some concoction that was meant to make a human inhuman. He can't stop how the dreams still plague him... Yet--

Astarion was a balm in those tortured days. Was someone from his past that he can't help but want to reach out and touch and keep - to hang on to while he tried to forget everything else.

So when Astarion says his chosen name like that, it lifts his still heart to know he isn't alone in this.]

For you, Astarion, always.

[He wants to reach out and touch, but he can't. Not until they are in private. Because his touch is too telling, speaks too deeply of how Astarion is a ray of sunshine in his darkness.]

Yes, if you have the time to spare me, I would be amendable to sharing a drink.

[ Vampires are so fucked up.

Xenk watches Levi's whole... deal with mild curiosity. Humans are so weird. Though his foresight is good. ]

Indeed. Spilled blood would be quite a waste.

[ That was not the takeaway, Xenk. ]

Eden hums for a moment before a stifled sound was heard. What could've been a snerk-ish sound matched the amused turn of Eden's lips, which she covered for a moment. Totally just dabbing something off from her lips with the edge of her sleeve.

Figuring the sound was still obvious though, she didn't hold up the poor bluff for long. "Sorry. I wasn't expecting such 'wisdom' from a teacher. My grandmother did say that hearts were the hardest thing to heal. So I guess with that and what you said, she might've meant it more than literally."

What a roundabout way of going 'who hurt you.'

"I'll just have to hope my youth protects me from long-term affects of something so horrible."

I'll do my best to remember that.

[ She assumes that's meant long-term as well, because in this particular case she had it rather handled. It's okay, Eden knew others wouldn't have such an easy time. Her case was rather... uniquely suited for classes like these. ]

[ Wow!! Xenk's eyes narrow slightly. It's not a lie!! ]

If the subject of the lecture happens to be enjoyable, I fail to see that as a detriment.

[ Ehem. It can be both! ]

[ Xenk nods. It's true, some people forget to eat if they're busy, or for whatever reason. Not everyone follows a precise schedule like him. ]

It is the first step in a great change. A vampire's blood is foreign to your body, and this will begin the transformation into its new form. While its taste will be exquisite, we have found that some adapt more easily to the intrusion than others. It is uncommon, but possible.

[ Xenk just out here sharing worst-case scenarios though, don't take his word for it. ]

This is cute.

[ yeah he's just going to say that out loud ]

[ She genuinely can't tell if it's vampire bias or genuine memory that has the teacher saying the taste of blood will be 'exquisite.' ]

Do you remember what the first change in your 'transformation' was?

[ Fishing for information to better prepare herself? Maybe. It almost sounds like some kind of drug, and given that the circumstances of how she lived was uncommon, she'd rather know. ]

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Test Drive Meme - New Blood

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cw: mentions of Enthrallment and torture/human experimentation

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